Abstract
Primary data collected from selected bastís of Jalandhar showed that 9.6% of the total labour engaged in the stitching of inflatable balls was child labour. The working hours for these children was far in excess of the statutory limit as provided under the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act, 1986. Moreover, as the work of ball stitching is outsourced by contractors and done in the household, children engaged in this activity are not covered by the health and safety benefits that factory workers are entitled to.
The children work to augment family income. Also, one of the factors at the root of child labour in Jalandhar is the perception that the education imparted in schools does not make one fit for jobs, so the sooner the children learn job-related skills, the better it is for them. Vocational education, if provided, would facilitate both education and skill training. Another measure could be to bring household labour under the scope of the law, so that children can not be put to work
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